Presentation: "Kanban - Crossing the line, pushing the limit or rediscovering the agile vision?"

Track: AGILE PRACTICES / Time: Monday 11:30 - 12:30 / Location: Rytmisk Sal, Musikhuset

Kanban represents a different and "Leaner" way of looking at software development compared to other agile methods like XP and Scrum. Focusing on principles and value sets, agile best practices like estimation, fixed iterations, cross functional teams, specific roles and even iteration retrospectives are no longer mandatory. For this reason some see Kanban as a threat to agile development and therefore a step in the wrong direction. That is not the case.

In this session we will explore how Kanban differs from agile methods like Scrum and XP and how these differences can be used to find real solutions to real problems in situations where traditional methods fall short. Having gone through the transition to Kanban it is my experience that Kanban's Lean perspective offers a unique way of rediscovering the agile vision. For some projects Scrum, XP or both are a perfect fit but they come at a cost and may turn out to be an unnecessarily expensive solution in your particular context. There are however no free meals and there is a downside to everything. Kanban is not a "Silver Bullet" but definitely deserves a place in your agile toolbox.

Keywords: Lean, agile, Kanban, process, project management, product development, organization, culture

Target audience: All who take part in software product development and delivery: Technical leads, Team leads, development managers, business developers and software engineers.

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Jesper Boeg, Trifork Software Pilot

Jesper Boeg

Biography: Jesper Boeg

Jesper has worked as Agile Coach and Developer at Trifork for the past 4 years. He has a Masters degree from Aalborg University in the area of Information Systems and wrote his thesis on how to successfully manage distributed software teams.

With a relentless Lean focus Jesper helps teams adopt Agile practises and break down the organisational and personal boundaries standing in the way. He believes that lack of communication is the root to all evil, and trust can only be established through an unrelenting focus on transparency in the entire organisation. Jesper's work is guided by high level Lean principles and believes that to achieve success one must look at the entire value stream and focus on the establishment of flow and a zero-defect mentality through continuous improvement.

Bringing "Agility back in Agile" have been keywords for Jesper's work lately. It is his experience that specific Agile Best Practices rule sets are enforced in many organisations, which is unhealthy in terms of continuous improvement and counter to the values of Agile. Ultimately restricting teams from using the resources at hand effectively and adapt to the context they are faced with.